Keene's energy, initiative give him an edge

For voters, elections often come down to picking the lesser of two evils.

For Republican voters in the 4th Senate District, June’s primary is the opposite — a difficult choice between the better of two strong candidates, Rick Keene and Doug LaMalfa. And because it’s such a heavily Republican district, whoever comes out ahead next month will all but certainly win the November election to replace Sen. Sam Aanestad.

Keene and LaMalfa have a great deal in common. Both have records as devoted small-government conservatives. Both spent six years in the Assembly, representing neighboring districts before term limits forced them out of their respective offices in 2008. Both even live in Butte County — although their hometowns hold a clue to the personal styles and backgrounds that mark the biggest contrast between them.

LaMalfa comes from a family of rice farmers in tiny Richvale and stresses his agricultural roots. Keene is a lawyer from Chico, what passes for the big city in the north state.

LaMalfa has spread the “He’s one of us” sloganeering a little thick over the years, but he’s also done his best to prove it. He’s been straight-talking and humble (by politicians’ standards). He woos rival politicians by taking them to the farm and letting them drive the tractor (as he did with then-Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, a Los Angeles Democrat, in 2008). And he’s set an extraordinarily high bar for accessibility to the voters, spending so much time traveling the district that sometimes you wonder if he’s got a twin.

Keene’s cut more from the standard political template. A lawyer by profession, he served on the Chico City Council in the 1990s before winning election to the Assembly. He was part of the Republican caucus’ legislative leadership, working especially on budget issues. He discusses policy details with considerable fluency, from spending trends to the arcana of legislative process. He boasts in particular of bipartisan efficiency hearings he helped lead in the Legislature — an area where liberals and conservatives ought to be able to set aside differences over what state government should do and work together to at least ensure it’s done well.

Looking forward, both point to the need to protect and promote sensible use of the north state’s natural resources and work to keep the growth of government in check. Keene, however, argues that Republicans need to get off defense and work harder to sell their ideas in the Democratic-leaning regions that dominate state politics. Republicans in the Legislature can be so beaten down that they lose the will to do anything but say “No.” Keene displays more fire to steer the state on a better course, both within the Legislature and by working to shift public opinion.

Keene’s energy and leadership suggest that he’s the candidate who would put the Senate seat to its best use. His grasp of policy also weighs in his favor. The Legislature ought to do less, overall. Until that message sinks in, though, its members must render judgment on nearly every subject under the sun — and the details count.

Whoever wins, the 4th Senate District will have able representation in Sacramento. Republican voters really can’t go wrong either way. But Keene’s energy, ideas and initiative lend him an important edge for a seat that is vital to representing the north state’s interests in Sacramento.